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Transportation

Americans have always been a people on the move—on rails, roads, and waterways (for travel through the air, visit the National Air and Space Museum). In the transportation collections, railroad objects range from tools, tracks, and many train models to the massive 1401, a 280-ton locomotive built in 1926. Road vehicles include coaches, buggies, wagons, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and automobiles—from the days before the Model T to modern race cars. The accessories of travel are part of the collections, too, from streetlights, gas pumps, and traffic signals to goggles and overcoats.

In the maritime collections, more than 7,000 design plans and scores of ship models show the evolution of sailing ships and other vessels. Other items range from scrimshaw, photographs, and marine paintings to life jackets from the Titanic.

No ink on negative. Passengers boarding a Bison Bus at the corner of 15th Street and K Street, "do not print" is written on the envelope in which this negative was originally filed. "KODAK SAFETY FILM" edge imprint

Cite as

Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Americans learn to love cars at a very early age. More than just play, ownership of pedal cars, bicycles, and motor scooters is a progressive initiation into the culture of personal mobility, climaxing with an automobile learner’s permit and driver’s license in adolescence. One pedal car manufacturer coined the slogan “Raise the Kiddies on Wheels” to express this extended bonding experience with personal, mechanized transportation. Pint-sized, pedal-powered cars for children became available in the first decade of the twentieth century, soon after automobiles appeared on the market, and they were mass-marketed by 1910. Pedal cars remained very popular for decades and came in a wide selection of styles. Some pedal cars even resembled specific makes and models of automobiles. This Ford Mustang pedal car celebrated the popular “pony car” introduced by Ford in April 1964 at the New York World’s Fair. By the 1960s, many adults and maturing baby boomers were discovering that driving could be fun. They were more inclined to think of their cars as personal possessions and bought models that offered some of the thrill of sports cars and high-performance cars. Manufacturers responded with cars that looked sporty, ran well, handled better than a family sedan or station wagon, and made the owner feel youthful, active, and socially accepted. Ford correctly interpreted this emerging market. Baby boomers were reaching driving age, more families were buying second cars, and women and single people were buying cars. Many consumers were looking for affordable models with flair, excitement, and optional equipment that enhanced comfort and performance. Ford developed the Mustang with these qualities in mind. Its spring debut (instead of a traditional fall debut), world’s fair publicity, and the Mustang’s instant appeal among consumers made this event one of the most memorable new car introductions in history. For children, a Ford Mustang pedal car was the ultimate in trendy playthings.

Railroad track signals are part of the control and management infrastructure of train movement. The railroad signal communicates to the operator of the train how to proceed to ensure safe movement. Early fixed signals involved hand signals, flags, and ball signals. With the spread of telegraph lines in the 1850s, train orders could be transmitted quickly from one stop to another. They were followed by automatic systems that developed with the introduction of electricity.

This early type of banner signal, also known as an automatic block signal, was one of the first automatic signals to be used in the United States. It was manufactured by the Union Switch and Signal Company about 1880. The signal operated by a clockworks driven by a 100 lb. weight. The clockworks were set in motion by an electromagnet that was triggered by trains passing over a track-mounted switch.

The signal consists of a box containing a clockwork mechanism. The roof of the box is a vertical spindle upon which are mounted two metal vanes, one painted green with a white striped border, and the other painted red. The box was mounted on a tall hollow iron pole in which the weight that operated the clockwork was suspended. This signal was used on the New York, New Haven & Hartford R.R. until about 1934.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Ford Model A was one of the most publicized and best-selling cars in America. It was sporty, attractive, well-built, and smooth-running compared to the Model T, which it replaced in the 1928 model year. Thousands of people were eager to see for themselves that "Henry's made a lady out of Lizzie," and they stormed Ford showrooms when the Model A debuted on December 2, 1927. In less than two weeks there were 400,000 orders, and Henry Ford could not keep up with the demand for his latest "gift" to an increasingly mobile nation. Despite the onset of the Depression, Model A production remained strong at 1,261,053 cars in 1930 but fell to 626,579 cars in 1931, the last year that the Model A was produced. Donald E. Wolff donated this restored 1931 Ford to the Smithsonian in 1974.

In the early 1920s, the plain, utilitarian Ford Model T far outsold other new cars and gave millions of working Americans the advantages of personal mobility. But by the mid-1920s, Ford's market share was shrinking because other automobile manufacturers offered stylish, sophisticated cars at low prices and enticements such as buying on credit. Henry Ford decided to replace the Model T with a new car that would attract as much attention as the "Tin Lizzie" once had. The much-anticipated 1928 Ford Model A was chic and sporty, and it had mechanical features that the Model T lacked: a three-speed, sliding-gear transmission, four-wheel brake system, and hydraulic shock absorbers. Sales were strong, but Ford never again dominated the new-car market as it had at the height of the Model T's popularity; Chevrolet, Plymouth, and other makes proved to be formidable rivals in the 1930s and beyond. In the 1932 model year, Ford replaced the Model A with a new line of cars featuring V-8 engines.